Join us in congratulating Anna Thompson on her new appointment as Executive Director of Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Anna will begin work with the new position on December 1, 2015.

Anna — previously a music educator who has now worked in arts for more than 30 years and arts administration for more than 20 years — oversees all administration and finances for the ISPA member organization DeBartolo Performing Arts Center at the University of Notre Dame and specializes as a curator of performing arts programming.

“I am honored to serve as the next executive director of Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center,” says Anna in the news release. “I look forward to being a part of the Birmingham arts community and leading what is already a dynamic institution with vibrant programming. The emphasis UAB places on engagement through the arts is especially important to me. I will continue to build upon the educational outreach initiatives, and to expand the center’s presence nationally as a presenter and commissioner in the performing arts.”